The Roi Mata Cultural Tourism project is a community tourism initiative that has been developed in the Lelepa Region of northwest Efate. The name ‘Roi Mata’ is actually a chiefly title that was held by the famous Chief Roi Mata about 400 years ago. His name has been adopted in the project title as the sites included in the tour are places that are central to the life, death and legacy of Chief Roi Mata.
The tourism project has been developed in conjunction with the upcoming World Heritage nomination of ‘Chief Roi Mata’s Domain’, which comprises three cultural sites in the Lelepa Region each of which are significant to the oral, material and archaeological history of Chief Roi Mata.
The Roi Mata Cultural Tourism Project has been developed to compliment the World Heritage Nomination through:
- Encouraging renewed and strengthened pride in natural and cultural heritage places among community members.
- Ensuring that the natural and cultural values of proposed World Heritage site are not disturbed but rather protected and preserved.
- Providing an alternative and sustainable means of generating economic benefit from the land.
- Maintaining traditional ownership and management of sites that are significant to Vanuatu’s cultural heritage.
It is hoped by many of those involved that this tourism project, which has begun as a somewhat unique and collaborative effort in bringing two village settlements together, will become a future example of successful and sustainable, community-based heritage tourism
The tourism project was developed following several community consultation workshops (‘Feasibility and Consulting Phase’ – project phase 1) that were run in northwest Efate in October and November 2005. Through these workshops members of the Mangaliliu and Lelepa Island settlements (of the Lelepa Region) established their mutual interest in developing a community tourism operation that would bring benefit to the people of their village and encourage the preservation of their natural and cultural assets.
During the workshops the community members worked together to develop a vision statement for the tourism project that would ensue:
Mangaliliu Tourism Vision Statement:
English:
It [the tourism project] is a dream that each person gathered here shares, just like we share our Church, our school and much more.
It will make us have more respect for our own cultural strengths.
This gathering brings every household in the community together, and we will make sure that we pass this dream on to the upcoming generations.
“The Tourism project that goes ahead in the Lelepa region must benefit the community and each household within the community. It must be a sustainable (long-term) project. We want to make sure that we look after all of our cultural and natural places, as well as all of our sacred (tabu) places”
Bislama (Melanesian Pidgin):
Emi wan trim, we body ia bae mekem mifala wanwan olsem, Church Haos, Education, mo narafala more. Mo bae i save mekem mifala i rispektem mifala. Body ia emi door blong wanwan haos mo bae i go kasem olgeta we oli stap kam bihaen”.
Local Language:
“Epi napere skei,
Npatko na ego welua narei go kinem skeskei.
Taos nasuma tap, nataen, narogtemwian go te ptae tete.
Go etae welua kinem lag ur ga kolkol nlaken nawiannaur agnem.
Npatko na epi namta skei na nawian ego urus pak tagona go tagona urgo rak panei”. Lelepa Island Tourism Vision Statement:
English:
“The Tourism project that goes ahead in the Lelepa region must benefit the community and each household within the community. It must be a sustainable (long-term) project. We want to make sure that we look after all of our cultural and natural places, as well as all of our sacred (tabu) places”.
Bislama (Melanesian Pidgin):
“Turism projek we bae hemi gohed long Lelepa rijon, bae hemi mas benefitem komuniti mo wanwan haoshold; hemi mas bi wan long-term projek (sustenabol); mo mifala i wantem lukaotem gud ol kaljoral mo najural ples, mo ol tabu ples, blong mifala.”
Local Language:
“Naosin eto pak ling mur alapa pan, evi taluan eskei nasuma skeiskei uruga wis ntapen_as. Naosin na tug lopar kat wi kinia ne ega to prau. Kinta telap tug tuman psa sok kintas lang tug do loparkat nalitap eginta”.
Following the consultation workshops an action plan was developed for the community tourism project and a committee appointed to oversee its progress. This committee is known as the World Heritage and Tourism Committee (WHTC) and it comprises eight local members of the Lelepa Region. There is an equal gender balance as well as equal representation from each of the Lelepa Region settlements (four from Mangaliliu Village and four from Lelepa Island). In addition an employee of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VKS) has a position on the committee and has been attending the WHTC meetings to provide input and advice on cultural heritage management.
The WHTC meets monthly to discuss project related issues and developments. Over the past few months the committee has been coordinating the operation of several “Pilot Tours” which are intended to trial-run the tour product prior to advancing to the business or “operational” phase of the project.
So far 10 pilot tours have been run to trial the tour and 3 more tours are planned for the upcoming month. The project has received a lot of support from locally based volunteers, expatriates, Vanuatu Cultural Centre employees and Friends of the Museum, who have attended the tour and provided invaluable feedback.
In preparation for the pilot tours a Tour Guide Training Workshop was run in March 2006, followed by numerous follow-up training sessions to build the confidence and interpretational skills of the trained tour guides. Most of the people who attended the Tour Guide Training were youth, and the feedback they provided at the end of the workshop indicated that the most valuable part of the training was learning about aspects of their cultural heritage that they did not know much about before. Many of the workshop attendees commented that they really liked learning about the story of Roi Mata and the sites associated with his history; namely Mangaas (Roi Mata’s residence), Fels Cave (where Roi Mata purportedly drew his last breath) and Eretoka or Hat Island (the location of Roi Mata’s grave site).
In keeping with the community vision, the tour has been designed to involve as many family groups as possible. Members of the community are currently involved with the Tourism Project in various ways, such as:
- tour guiding
- preparation of food and refreshments for tourists
- driving and maintenance of vehicles and boats
- acting in the Naflak dramatisation
- performing kastom dance
- building and maintaining visitor facilities
- making handicrafts for sale
- carving tamtams (slit drums) for the tour
- keeping tour areas tidy and clear of rubbish
- gardening to produce extra food for tourism activities
- production of interpretative materials
- project planning
- human resource management
- financial management and administration
In addition, the final draft of the nomination file for ‘Chief Roi Mata’s Domain’ (CRMD) will be submitted to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) in September 2006. Following this the closing date for the submission of the entire nomination file will be in February 2007. The complete nomination file includes:
- Nomination Document
- Management Plan for Chief Roi Mata’s Domain (CRMD)
- Cultural Tourism Strategy for CRMD
- CRMD Conservation Program: Feature Details and Monitoring Points
- CRMD Cultural Site Management System (database)
